Name___________________________________________________________
OCEA10: intro to oceanography
Date___________________
Forecasting climate variability and climate change:
A Matter of Survival
This is due before starting the exam on Tuesday, January 29. I will
be choosing something from this assignment as a bonus question
on the exam!!
We are getting close to talking about climate change. To start getting prepared for this topic,
I want you to read an article about how climate impacted several past civilizations: the
Incas, the Mayans, and the Vikings. Please navigate to the following URL and read the article
carefully. Please look at the pictures that go along with the article, too! If the URL isn’t
working, please e-mail me, and I will send you the link.
http://serc.carleton.edu/itgstu/climate_of_change/unit1_article1.html
After you’ve read the article, please answer the following questions by writing the correct
choice on the blank.
________ 1) For the Andean people, which of the following crops are sensitive to climate, and
require adjustments to planting time in order to ensure a good harvest?
(a) Corn
(b) Quinoa
(c) Wheat
(d) Potatoes
_________2) Around which time of the year do the people of the Andes observe the
constellation Pleiades?
(a) December
(b) March
(c) June
(d) September
_________3) The decision of whether to plant potatoes in December, rather than October is
made when:
(a) villagers have a clear view of the Pleiades
(b) villagers have an obscured view of the Pleiades
(c) it rains in October
(d) October temperatures are warmer than normal
_________4) What did Dr. Orlove use to verify the Incan forecasting technique?
(a) Records of precipitation on the coast of Peru
(b) Satellite records of cloud data
(c) Records of precipitation in high Andean villages
(d) Ocean surface temperature data from the tropical Pacific
_________(5) On the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, scientists have been able to learn about the
climate that affected the Mayans by:
(a) Examining written records of rainfall recorded in pyramids
(b) Examining sediments at Mayan archeological sites
(c) Examining changes in sediments along Yucatan beaches
(d) Examining sediments from the bottom of a regional lake
_________(6) On the Yucatan Peninsula, what makes the lakes of Punta Laguna and
Chichancanab ideal for gathering sediments?
(a) They have a high sedimentation rates
(b) There are few streams or rivers transporting sediment away from the lakes
(c) The water is rarely disturbed in these lakes
(d) All of the above.
__________(7) Work by the science team from the University of Florida suggests that the
collapse of the Classic Mayan civilization, and abandonment of Mayan cities coincided with
which of the following climate phenomena?
(a) Extended drought
(b) Extended periods of heavy rain
(c) Extended period of intense hurricane activity
(d) Extended period of anomalously cool temperatures
___________(8) What is the annual range of average daily maximum temperature in
Greenland?
(a) 20F to 80F
(b) 10F to 32F
(c) 20F to 50F
(d) 50F to 80F
___________(9) What did Dr. D’Andrea and colleagues examine in Greenland lake mud samples,
in order to infer a record of temperature over the past 5000 years?
(a)
A ratio of heavy to light oxygen
(b)
Pollen deposited by ancient trees
(c)
Fat deposits made by algae
(d)
Fossils of microscopic fauna
___________(10) It is thought that the Vikings abandoned their Greenland settlements because
(a) winters became harsher, and they were unable to adapt to a new lifestyle
(b) their sheep and goats became ill and died out quickly
(c) they cut down all of the trees in Greenland, and no longer had wood to heat their
homes
(d) conflicts with North American settlers forced them to return to Scandinavia